Wenger Accuses Raheem Sterling of Diving But Could Face Possible FA Action Himself

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has accused Manchester City winger Raheem Sterling of diving to win a penalty during the Gunners' 3-1 defeat at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday afternoon, knocking the struggling Londoners even further out of the title race.

After City took the lead through Kevin de Bruyne, Sergio Aguero doubled the advantage from the penalty spot shortly after half-time when Sterling went down after attention from Arsenal defender Nacho Monreal in the area.

"I believe it was no penalty. We know that Raheem Sterling dives well, he does that very well," a bitter Wenger told BBC Sport afterwards.

Wenger was scathing in his review of referee Michael Oliver, with the Frenchman unhappy with the 'offside' third City goal that killed the contest after Arsenal had pulled one back.

"It is unfortunate that the game finished the way it finished. I am disappointed. You can accept it if City win in a normal way, they are a good side, but this is unacceptable. Last season we lost two offside goals and it has happened again," Wenger is quoted as saying by The Guardian.

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"You have seen what I have seen. The fact you tell me it is an offside goal says enough. I don’t want to take anything away from the quality but it happened at a moment when we were really in the game at 2-1 and it killed the game," he added.

Wenger also suggested that City will be 'unstoppable' this season if they continue to get what he is seeing as hand outs from officials: "It will be difficult this season, the way they have started, the quality they have, but you never know. If on top of that they have decisions at home like that, they will be unstoppable."

Under new rules for the 2017/18 season, the FA has the power to retrospectively ban players for two games if they are seen to have successfully conned a referee into awarding a penalty.

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That means that if Sterling is seen to have successfully cheated, the winger could be facing FA action. Yet support seems to be on the side of the City player, with Wenger the one more likely to face retrospective action over his comments about Sterling and the officials.

Pundit Alan Shearer even thinks an apology to the City player is required.

"There is no way that was a dive and it was a penalty," he told BBC's Match of the Day 2.

"It's one thing for Wenger to deflect from his team's inadequacies, it's another to question someone's integrity and be wrong. I think he owes Sterling an apology."